Too Late for Sorry, Mr. Billionaire (Chasing my Wife Back) novel Chapter 120

120

ADRIAN strode into his office the next morning with an energy Peter hadn’t seen in years. The man who had left for the gala last night looking tense and restless now wore the faintest hint of a smile, one that refused to leave his face.

Peter followed him in, setting a neat stack of files on his desk.

“You look unusually… cheerful. What happened back there when I wasn’t looking?” He chuckled.

Adrian dropped into his leather chair, leaning back with a deep exhale as if replaying every moment. He swirled the glass of water in his hand, grinning slightly.

“She listened, Peter. For the first time in months- no, years- Amelia actually listened to me, freely without any external coercion from me.”

Peter arched a brow, curious.

“Listened as in… business talk?”

Adrian’s eyes softened, a warmth spreading through them. 1

“Both. She heard me out about more partnerships and collaborations. She didn’t shut me down like she used to. And when that little guard dog of hers, Ryan, tried to intervene…” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Amelia reminded him of his place. She told him straight up that he is her assistant, not her detective.”

Peter let out a low whistle, clearly amused.

“So she stood up for you.”

“Exactly,” Adrian said, his voice almost triumphant.

“Oh my! Where was I when all these took place?” He laughed.

“For the first time since she walked out,” Adrian continued, ignoring the rhetoric question, “I felt like she saw me again. Maybe not as her husband… not yet. But as someone she can respect, someone she can talk to.”

Peter studied him for a moment, his lips twitching into a grin.

“You are glowing like a man who just closed the deal of the century. Except this isn’t business, is it?”

Adrian leaned forward, his tone firm but hopeful.

“It is business, Peter. That’s the door she left open. But I will take it. Because business can become trust. And trust … can become love again.

“Have you heard what people are saying?” Clara’s tone was wary.

Amelia, who had been going through invoices, frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“That you and Ryan…” Clara trailed off, hesitant. “That there is something more going on.”

Amelia’s pen froze on the page. For a long moment, she said nothing. Then, with a calm but sharp edge in her voice, she replied, “That is ridiculous. Ryan is my assistant. Nothing more.

Clara sighed softly.

“I know, but Amelia, people are talking. And you know how this world is, the higher you climb, the louder the gossip.”

Amelia leaned back in her chair, eyes narrowing in irritation. She wasn’t new to whispers, but this one… this one was dangerous. Not because it was true, but because it could easily grow into something that would undermine her reputation- and her resolve.

What she didn’t know, however, was that the gossip had already reached Adrian. And for him, every word of it was like gasoline poured over a fire already raging in his chest.